She said: “It’s important to be open to all possibilities. I haven’t given up on it. I saw my parents break up and I didn’t like it.

“I think the best thing for now is to behave like adults and take a break. He can go his way, take care of what needs to be taken care of, and I’ll do the same.”

Karen added: “You never know what’ll happen; maybe even in a couple of years… It’s just that right now this is what we need.”

Gareth Cattermole via Getty ImagesKaren Clifton

Earlier this month, Kevin discussed why it was so important to himself and Karen to be honest about their split, claiming: “I think there is a lot of pressure on people to be perfect all the time, and so there is this fairytale image of everything, but at the end of the day we are just like other people.

“We never want to pretend to our fans or to anybody.”

While Karen and Kevin are no longer together on a personal level, they will remain dancing partners, and both are expected to return for this year’s ‘Strictly’, when it returns to our screens in the autumn.